Join us on our journey as we transition the inALLcaps blog. We are extending our passion for music to the platforms of tech, books, movies, devices, and pop culture. As always, we are on your side, and we are ALWAYS right.

Monday, August 23, 2010

I'm a Phonomancer Too...

*No Magic

Has a song ever changed your life?

Did you ever wonder how?

One of my guilty pleasures, and I have many, would be comics. More specifically, the graphic novel. Graphic novels are like watching a TV series on DVD. You get all the episodes in one neat package, and you don't have to wait a month to get the new issue at the comic book store.

Not that I mind going to the comic book store...but it saves me money if I don't have to go that frequently. Mostly because I lack self control. It's exponentially harder when your comic book store is as great as mine. Alternate Reality Comics is, and I say this with confidence because I've been around, the BEST comic book store of ALL TIME! OF ALL TIME! (when I wrote that I channeled Kanye West...)

The reason Alternate Reality is so amazing is the man behind the counter. Ralph Mathieu. Ralph owns the oldest comic book store in Las Vegas. Ralph has been in love with comic books since 1975. That's 34 years. In 1995 when Dungeon Comics, established in 1987, came up for sale Mr. Mathieu jumped at the chance. He also runs an awesome blog too! About comics obviously. Did I mention he's German? No? Check out Ich Liebe Comics when you are done here!

The best part is that once Ralph knows what you like, he runs around his store grabbing all the new stuff you should like based on what you are into. He's never been wrong. This last time I visited the store, I threw him a curve ball. Graphic Novels with a music theme? He hit it out of the park.

Phonogram. Two graphic novels about music. And magic.

You Must Dance

The stories revolve around Phonomancers, those who use music to enter magical states. A world where every song is a spell and every gig a chance for magical misadventure. The second book takes the perspective of 7 different Phonomancers on one night at a club.

I want to share four pages from the book. It's from the DJ and promoters' point of view. I should also remind you of the rules of this particular club night.

I thought it would be fun to give you the soundtrack to these four pages. I hope that sharing these songs will romance you into buying the music from these talented women. More importantly, if you live in Vegas, that you might go see Ralph at Alternate Reality, or at least buy these great novels using the Amazon links below. This is the most important part really...to buy the novel. Because...well...because I really need you to. I'll let the writer of Phonogram, Kieron Gillen give you the bad news about why there will never be a third book:

Best plan I have is just writing series 3 and then writing into my will that assuming I die young and Jamie's still around, lob him whatever's in my bank account to draw it. Which is assuming he'd even be willing to do it then. It's not that we're bitter about it -- well, not just because we're bitter about it -- but that it's been emotionally exhausting. We've been doing "Phonogram" for over 4 years, not including the years before the first series came out. Imagine if we could have just done the comic and not had to deal with any of the shit we've had to. We'd have been up to issue 44 now. Instead, we have 13 issues.

I feel frustrated. Enormously lucky, sure, but frustrated. We've done this wonderful thing we're crazy-proud about. But if the whole economic system was just a couple of degrees to the left, everything would have been different. I mean, just to give you an idea about narrow the margins are between what we are and what we could be, if we were selling 6K instead of 4K, we could have done those 44 issues. The difference between breaking even and actually being able to do it in comics is insane. It's like being kept under ice, clawing. I feel like a bonsai plant.

Mookie, thanks for the comments about my store and me, here on your blog! Excuse my bad memory, but have you been to my store since the move? Could you jog my memory as to who you are next time you stop by?